if you have time to worry
by king.needlemouse
Summary: then run.


**aah i'm alive! kjhgkd sorry i'm falling so behind on twtts. writer's block hit _hard_ dude. but then i got random inspiration to write a fic ab sonic 06 and uhh here we are? i'm hoping this'll help me get back into the swing of writing. i'd say expect the next chapter of twtts before christmas.**

 **anyways tho! idrk what this fic is haha it's just a fun lil oneshot i whipped up bc i started thinkin ab 06 again and i got emo ab how much potential the plot had. so now this is a thing i guess. (one day i really should make a legit rewrite of this game bc i have some ideas, but that'll be in the distant future.)**

 **no real warnings, this fic is pretty clean since it's basically a mini novelization of a sonic game. also uhh this isn't supposed to be sonelise? but if u wanna see it as that then go ahead, it's just not my cup of tea.**

* * *

He arrives at dusk, quills tousled from the wind and a gentle smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He settles on a rooftop, dangling his feet over the edge of his perch as he snacks on a corndog and watches the spectacle below. A cacophony of fireworks burst above, painting the dark sky in glorious explosions of red, blue, and green.

Below him, a large vessel drifts down a canal, carrying a good dozen or so dancers that twirl and spin in unity, donning golden dresses that frill out like flower petals. A sole woman stands in the center, adorning a pristine white garb that he can hardly make out from up on the rooftop. All along the sides of the canal, there's a collective rumble of enthusiastic cheers from the thousands of spectators.

The hedgehog briefly stops watching the show to scan the crowd for his companions. Tails, Amy, and Knuckles had all wandered off together to visit the venders and meet some of the residents. They'd all insisted he joined, but after a long flight across the ocean, all he'd wanted was some peace and quiet. He's more than content to enjoy the festival from up here.

The roar of the masses suddenly falls to a hush, and it's such an unprecedented moment that chills run down his spine. All eyes land on the boat drifting down the canal, and the entire world seems to hold its breath. The woman in white is speaking, now, but he's too distant to hear what she says. He knows it must be important, though.

After all, she is the princess.

Some time passes, and she's handed a torch as she strides forward, bowing it low to set alight a carving at the front of the vessel. Instantaneously, the flames grow to wrap along the delicate tendrils of the structure, before flowing into a crescendo to a massive beacon at the top. The crowd erupts back into another roar of joy, and he can't help but grin at the collective passion of Soleanna.

But there's something off that he can't quite place. His ear twitches at the distant whir of engines, and a frown settles on his face, because this is _Soleanna,_ they embrace traditional ways and barely used any sort of technology—let alone a _plane._

Emerald eyes flicker upwards and his breath hitches. A dark mass looms up above, and it launches a plethora of golden projectiles the second he spots it. He barely has enough time to jump before a rocket strikes the very roof he was perched on.

The cries of glee morph into horror as flames cascade through the air, crashing into buildings and making the very ground tremble beneath their feet. When he lands on the ground he startles quite a few folks, who are already very much out of their element, so he gives them a curt nod and spits out an apology before taking off.

He hops up onto the railing running along the canal, sprinting down it as he nears the boat, which has since come to a stop as guards attempt to rush the princess off. The behemoth of an aircraft launches out some bulbous object, which glides down to the boat just before he can reach it. A fat man in bright red steps out of the hovering sphere, and the hedgehog bites back a snarl before launching himself off the railing towards the boat.

Humanoid robots begin to rain down from the sky, landing along the edges of the boat to completely block off the people on board. Eggman chuckles as the princess steps back from him in fear, clutching something close to her person.

A swirl of blue begins to dart around the perimeter, then, and Eggman can't help but roll his eyes.

The tornado dissipates, and from it emerges a cerulean hedgehog, who glides seamlessly through the air before colliding with one of the bots and smashing right through it from the mere serration of his quills. He darts about the boat, leaving the various mechs with the same fates as their brethren, before skidding to a stop before the princess, herself.

He doesn't exactly know what's happening—the details, anyways. Just that Eggman, plus the kidnapping and-slash-or murder of a powerful political figure, equals _bad._

Catching the raw fear in her eyes, he puts on a show of bowing with a wide, cocky grin.

"Your majesty," he drawls, quite literally swooping her off her feet to carry her to safety. The princess yelps and squirms in his grip for a brief moment, clearly losing her mind from the obscurity of the situation. The hedgehog faces the mad scientist across the boat from them, whose face has since turned beet red. "Nice to see ya', doc. It's been awhile. Too bad I gotta run."

With that, he darts off the boat and leaps towards the dark, icy waters below. The princess screams and clutches tautly onto him, expecting to be plunged into the canal. But after the wind continues to blow through her hair for several seconds, she pries open her eyes and loosens her tense grip on him.

Her eyes widen as she realizes the hedgehog is going so fast he's running on the surface of the water, and she starts to wonder if maybe this is all some insane dream. They soon reach land again, and her savior settles her onto the ground in some hidden alleyway. The streets around them are now deserted, save for the few guards attempting to thwart their invaders.

The pair turns to face each other, catching their breaths as his crazed smirk softens to a genuine smile, gently and caring. His large, emerald eyes search her face keenly. "You alright, miss?"

She swallows thickly and nods. "… Yes. Thank you, mister—"

"Sonic," he provides, something exhilarating flashing across his face. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

She pauses, uneasy. "Well, I'm sure you know who I am."

Sonic shrugs. "You're the princess, yeah. But do you gotta name?"

She can't help but smile a bit at his utterly blasé attitude. "Elise."

"Right then, Elise." The hedgehog glances over his shoulder, as if making sure they weren't followed. "You okay? Baldy didn't hurt ya' too bad, did he?"

Elise shakes her head, rubbing her arm. For someone who's supposed to carry the strength of a country, Sonic can't help but feel like she's only a vulnerable child, not quite sure how to handle things yet. "No, I'm fine. Just shaken."

"Well," he chuckles, thumbing his nose, "looking at Eggy's ugly mug will do that to ya'."

"He's that terrorist, isn't he?" the princess asks, this guarded, nervous look in her eyes. "Doctor Eggman? I've heard mentions of him at UN meetings, but Soleanna is so secluded…"

A frown starts to tug at his lips. "Well, I guess this could kinda be my fault. Trouble seems to follow me a lot, and uh, trouble is pretty much his middle name."

"You know him?"

"I beat him up on the daily, miss princess."

She lets out a snort, loud and shameless, before immediately covering her face and casting a frantic look out over their shoulders. Nothing but flames roam the brick streets, and after a few beats of silence for good measure, the pair relaxes.

Elise's heart sinks, then, because everything seems to have fallen apart so fast, and she isn't sure if she can handle this stress. Not now. Not on top of everything else.

"I hope everybody evacuated safely," she says, her voice low and soft. The smirk falls from Sonic's face, and he raises a large hand to squeeze her shoulder. It's funny—she's a good two feet taller than him, given that he's a mobian, but she's still hunched over enough and she can't help but welcome the comfort, anyways.

"I'm positive they did," the hedgehog assures. "I've known Eggbreath for years, and as crazy as he is, he'd never kill anybody. The missiles mostly hit buildings, which I'm pretty sure were empty 'cause of the festival."

"It's just—I'm the princess, now. And soon enough, I'll be a queen. And I can't—" her voice breaks off, moisture welling in the corners of her eyes. "… Gods, I don't think I'm ready for this."

Sonic bites the inside of his cheek. "Hey, don't worry. Tell ya' what, as soon as I get you to safety, I'll run a sweep of the area, look out for any stragglers, yeah?" She sniffles, hastily wiping at her eyes before any tears can even fall, trying to hide the red in her cheeks. "… Y'know, Elise, it's okay to cry. I won't judge." He holds a hand up in oath.

She shakes her head dejectedly, and in a voice so soft he can hardly here, she murmurs, "I can't cry."

He swallows; reevaluates. "Alright, then let's try something else." The speedster steps back, and gives her a stern look as he places his hands on his hips; he looks expectant. "If you don't wanna cry, then you gotta toughen up! You said it yourself—you're a princess. You gotta prove you can handle this, 'cause I know you can. C'mon, Elise. Smile."

Elise looks at him, dead on. A grin is already stretching across his muzzle, and somehow it manages to chase away the burning feeling beneath her face. She returns a smile, and it works—something of a spark of confidence starts to flare in her chest—regardless of how brittle it is.

"There ya' go!" Sonic remarks, lighting up. She laughs breathily, and he grabs her by the wrist. "Now, c'mon, lemme escort you somewhere safe."

* * *

It's frustrating.

And he honestly can't say if he's more frustrated with Eggman or himself, just that he is. He shouldn't be this—this _incompetent._ Yet here he stands, shoes dusted with sand, salt on his lips, water lapping against his soles. Today is too beautiful. There's hardly a cloud in the sky, the sun is radiant as ever, the ocean is crystal clear, and it's _irritating._

Because he can't run any further. Because the Egg Carrier is already gone.

Tails is just behind him, panting from their sprint across the coast, their futile chase after Eggman. "Sonic," he says after a while, after he's caught his breath. "Sonic, we're too late. Let's head back to the city."

The hedgehog grits his teeth, eyes trained on the mass of red gliding through the sky, off in the distance. It's nearly out of sight, now. Something tight furls up in his chest.

"Sonic, don't—don't feel bad," Tails tries again, but he isn't hearing him.

And then something catches his eye, drifting slowly to the ground. Sonic's glare softens, watching mutely as the fleck of white dances to the surface of the water, nearly invisible. He plucks it off the water, shaking away dewdrops and speckles of mud like it's a Polaroid image.

It's a feather. Elise's feather.

Sonic exhales slowly, washing out the salty air from his system. Wordlessly, he turns to Tails, and they exchange a look. Nod to each other.

They run back to the city faster than lightning.

* * *

Desert sands and arid winds soon morph to thick, verdant grass and a cool breeze. They stumble upon these gorgeous, rolling hills that seem to stretch out for an eternity, and with a quick glance over his shoulder, Sonic decides to let Elise down. He hopes, silently, that Tails can handle the swarm of badniks back in the desert.

Elise nods curtly to the hedgehog, drawing his attention. "Thank you, Sonic. Really. You've saved my life more than once, now."

He gives a nonchalant shrug, the insistence that _it's no big deal_ on the tip of his tongue, when she cuts him off with a shocked gasp; it's small and meaningless, but he can't help but eye her worriedly.

"You're hurt," she says, as though bewildered that he hadn't noticed sooner.

His lips twitch, and Sonic decides to peer down at his arm, where he's apparently so gravely injured. When he sees nothing but a thin cut and a small seam of blood, the hedgehog gives a scoff and shrugs indifferently.

"It's nothing."

Elise frowns, and it's almost a pout. Something foreign flickers in her eyes. "Don't say that," she scolds, kneeling down to tend to the cut. Sonic looks at her strangely, as the princess tears off a piece of her pristine dress to wrap the cloth around his bicep like a bandage. It's silly. Last week, he'd been nursing a broken wrist from a scuffle with Shadow. He bets, now, that this was just a stray piece of shrapnel that nicked his arm, from he'd fought the Egg Cerberus. It was almost amusing, to him, that Elise would fuss over something so trivial—

"I'm sorry," she mutters, as she finishes tying up the cloth on his arm. Sonic blinks owlishly at her. _What for?_ he wants to ask, because apologizing over this stupid cut is completely asinine, but—"This is all my fault."

He grins bemusedly at her. "What, you're apologizing for being kidnapped?"

"No, not—" Elise sighs, gaze lingering on the bandage on his arm. "… I just mean, everything. I should be able to handle this. I should be able to prove that I'm a strong leader, but… apparently I still need to be saved." She meets Sonic's gaze, which is wide and curious, his smile faded. "I'm sorry for having to drag you into this."

The hedgehog raises a brow. He opens his mouth to refute her, because this is ridiculous, saving the day is _what he does,_ when Elise breaks their eye contact to stare above his head with glistening blue eyes and a gaping mouth. Sonic frowns and follows her stare, and they watch noiselessly as a butterfly glides down to perch on the tip of his nose.

Sonic eyes the insect bizarrely, emerald eyes intense and observant. It fans out its cerulean wings elegantly, and he can't help but sniffle as it tickles his nose. Elise starts to smile widely, because he must look like a complete fool, before breaking into laughter. He chuckles softly with her as she lightly flicks a finger towards the butterfly, ushering it to flutter off into the midday sky.

With a small huff, he extends a hand to Elise to help her to her feet, and says, "You don't have anything to apologize for. You're braver than most people I've met, Elise, and that's coming from a guy that fights robots and stands on the wings of planes on a weekly basis."

The pair starts their trek again, spotting the vague silhouette of Soleanna's castle on the horizon.

"Eggman had mentioned the Flames of Disaster," Sonic says, keen on changing the subject—he's not too fond of sentimental stuff. "Is that why he's after you?"

"Yes," she replies. "The god my country honors is named Solaris—he is whom the Sun Festival was dedicated to. It is told that Solaris' rage would destroy the world in due time. His wrath comes from one of his halves, in the Flames of Disaster…" the princess trails off, something misty enveloping her gaze as she starts to slow down. Sonic stops walking as well, to look at her. "… Ten years ago he almost unleashed his fury. I don't—I don't remember it well, but… I lost my father to that incident." She wrings her hands anxiously, voice growing watery. "And now—now Doctor Eggman wants to cause another disaster, and I don't know how to stop him…"

Something stubborn sets in Sonic's features that catches Elise off guard. She barely gets another word out before he grabs her wrist and pulls her into a run.

And she insists, fruitlessly, that she's not as fast as him, but he doesn't listen, just keeps pumping his legs beneath himself, faster and faster. He doesn't stop till she's heaving for breath, and a vague burn tingles in his calves from the exertion. He turns to her, and she has her hands on her knees, gasping heavily.

"It doesn't matter how fast or strong you are," Sonic says with a firm grin. "You won't get anywhere without taking action." He steps forward, then, to place a hand on her shoulder. "If you have time to worry, then run."

* * *

His thoughts are discombobulated and it takes him a good while to piece them back together. The first thing he notices is how cold the steel floor feels against his limp body, and how nice of a relief it is from the raw heat that permeates through the air. He takes in a deep breath, and shudders. It's like the oxygen itself is on fire, tendrils of its flames crawling down his throat and curling into his lungs.

"… Ugh, I feel sick," mutters a voice, young and slurred. Sonic lifts his head from the ground to squint at a tangerine figure in a similar position as himself. He blinks away the fogginess in his vision to make out Tails, nursing his head as he sits up. The kit meets his eyes. "You okay, Sonic?"

The hedgehog only replies in an incomprehensible groan, as he rolls onto his back to stare up at the decaying ceiling. Looking to his left, Knuckles is already standing up, albeit with trembling legs and a hand against the wall for support. Violet orbs seem dazed as they stare into nothing.

"What happened?" Sonic asks aloud, not even expecting an answer from his friends because, frankly, he's sure they're just as disoriented as he is. But he's confused, and his limbs feel numb, and it's so warm in here he thinks he might combust into flames at any moment.

There's a beat of silence, because as he suspected, nobody knows the answer. But soon enough the trio starts to come to their senses, and recollect what they'd been doing prior.

 _White Acropolis._

"Oh shit," the speedster hisses under his breath, scrambling to his feet. "Elise?!"

But as they look around themselves, stuck in the strange, cylindrical room they were just in, they find themselves alone. The walls around them are crumbling and lined in fissures; the glass window Eggman stood behind moments earlier is smashed open to reveal a dark, vacant room.

"Where'd they go?" Knuckles wonders, stepping towards it.

Sonic helps Tails stand, before the fox says, "I think the question should be, where'd _we_ go?"

They quickly notice the sound of distant footsteps, lethargic and calculated. They come from the second story of the room, straight above them. The group gathers close and crouch into guarded stances, fists raised.

"Well, well, well. Long time, no see, boys."

Tails' eyes widen and he's the first to relax of the three. "Rouge?"

The infamous bat emerges gracefully from the shadows, like a fish cresting from the waves of an ocean. She smirks at the trio and fans out her wings flauntingly.

"And Shadow," the azure male remarks, as his doppelganger in turn shows himself. The same scowl as usual mars his face, and he crosses his arms aloofly. "How's it goin', faker?"

The ebony hero levels Sonic with a steely stare in response. "Tch. You haven't changed a bit, have you, hedgehog?"

"I could say the same about you, _edgelord._ "

Sonic turns to Knuckles, who's gone awfully quiet, and spares a fleeting look of sympathy upon seeing his wavering frown. The guardian never quite got along with Rouge and Shadow; the former teased him incessantly, and the latter… Well, Knuckles was never too appreciative of how _vindictive_ he'd been with the emeralds' power—regardless of him being reformed now.

"What are you two doing here?" the echidna asks, and Sonic can't help but notice that his fists are still balled up defensively. It's subtle, but he knows his friend well and can spot his telltale signs of stress from a mile away.

Rouge glides easily down to the ground, while Shadow simply leaps off their ledge to land a bit melodramatically beside her. The pair exchanges a look that prompts Sonic's interest.

"G.U.N. business," she settles on, and it elicits a raised brow from the blue blur. "You?"

"Eggman business," he shrugs. The bat nods as though she'd already expected that answer.

"So…" Tails starts slowly, azure eyes drifting around the chamber, mind no doubt reeling at the possibilities of what could've happened to them. He narrows his eyes at the newcomers. "Do you guys know where we are?"

Shadow's the one to answer, his eyes glued to the floor. "Approximately two hundred years in the future."

Sonic scoffs at this, quirking a brow and suppressing laughter, because that's _absurd._ "You're—you're kidding, right? … Right, Shads?"

"Actually," the two-tailed fox cuts in, gaze distant as he concentrates harder. "It's not that farfetched. Eggman had been bragging about Solaris, and how he could control time with his machine, so…"

"Solaris?" Rouge asks, eyes narrowing. Before anyone can reply, though, a bestial screech cuts through the air, sending tremors across the building. All five mobians stiffen, and Shadow wordlessly runs to the door. The others follow after him.

When they step outside, they find themselves on a cliff side overlooking a city. While Shadow and Rouge remain in place, the other three can't help but move closer to the edge, unable to perceive what exactly is before them.

It's Soleanna, that much they can distinguish, but it's in complete ruins. Skyscrapers are on the verge of collapse, the streets lined in gargantuan craters. Flames and pools of magma run along nearly every available surface, hellish creatures coated in fire roaming the metropolis freely. The air is thicker out here, less forgiving to their airways as the oxygen seems to smolder in throats with each breath. The very ground beneath their feet feels like cemented molten, burning through the soles of their shoes.

The writhing frustration from earlier furls up tighter in Sonic's chest, taut and festering. He clenches his fists so tight his palms burn, and he has to close his eyes for a moment to calm his breathing. _He hates this._ Everything he has ever worked for, what he has worked to save his entire life, has fallen apart before his very eyes. _What's the point of saving the world now, if it'll only collapse altogether later?_

Tails looks utterly pitiful, and anger flickers across Knuckles' features.

"This is horrible!" the kit bemoans, throwing his hands up. "And this only proves that Eggman will win in the end!"

Knuckles grits his teeth. "Not on our watch." Violet eyes are cast desperately to the hedgehog beside himself. "Right, Sonic?"

The cerulean hero is silent, something bitter and cruel playing in his wide emeralds. He digs his fingers further into his palms.

"Sonic?"

He turns to the echidna, who looks slightly crestfallen at the frustration swelling in his face.

"We'll fix this," Knuckles murmurs, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. The hedgehog eases up at the touch. "We always do."

Sonic turns to face the others. "We need to get home. The longer we're here, the more danger the present is in—and I've got a feeling we're running out of time."

"Well, that's what you're for, isn't it?" Shadow says, something exciting flashing across his face as his lips almost twitch upwards. "Fastest thing alive. Time shouldn't be a concern of yours, now, should it?"

The speedster grins widely at his rival. Confidence starts to rebuild itself within him, and the frustration is snuffed out like an insignificant spark. He has a feeling it'll only return stronger, later, but now isn't the time to brood and mope.

"Only question is, how exactly are we gonna get out of here?" Rouge wonders.

In turn, Shadow withdraws his Chaos Emerald, looking rather smug. Knuckles eyes the glistening gem for a few seconds, almost like he's debating whether or not to take it from him right then, before he just shakes his head and crosses his arms.

"One emerald won't be enough to take five of us back two hundred years. We need more energy to pull that off."

Sonic shrugs unconcernedly. "Fine, then we find another one."

"Where would we start?" Tails ponders, looking over the expanse of the city. It's huge, and it certainly won't be a walk in the park, what with all the wreckage and monsters.

Knuckles turns to face the city as well; closes his eyes and thinks. "I can sense some Chaos energy off in the distance. I say we head towards that volcano on the horizon."

Just as he says that, another roar from that hidden beast erupts across the metropolis. The ground beneath their feet shakes, making them all teeter off balance, and skyscrapers start to shift and groan. Whatever the monster is, it's even larger and worse than the ones stalking the city. Sonic gets a creeping feeling that it's probably in that volcano with the emerald, and he sighs tiredly.

"Alright guys, let's get going. Give it up for Team Sonic!" the hedgehog exclaims, pumping his fist in the air for extra effect. The only person this seems to rouse is Tails, who only dawns a slightly-less exhausted look.

Shadow gives him a look. "That is _not_ our name."

Sonic grins to himself as Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge start to fly them down to the city.

 _It totally is._

* * *

The woods grow thicker, and Sonic feels he can finally breathe easy as he slows to a light jog. Elise holds tightly onto him in his arms, and she's trying to look calm, but he can still see the remnants of panic in her eyes. He makes a show of looking over his shoulder and smiling satisfactorily to try and ease her mind.

"I think we lost 'em," the hedgehog says. Elise nods at that, her lips pulled into a tight line. He huffs. "I should get you back to the castle."

Any hint of joviality falls at those words, and the princess' gaze becomes distant. "… Okay."

But that just—rubs him the wrong way, and a frown tugs at his lips. Sonic looks around the forest, speckles of sunlight breaking past the thick canopy to glimmer down at them. The air is dense and humid, but the warmth relaxes his tense muscles and makes him long for a nap (which, frankly, he's in dire need of at this point).

Locking eyes with Elise, though, his motives are set and there's no caving his drowsiness. He shifts her in his arms and picks up the pace, veering off the trail and heading towards a small coast on a lake.

"Sonic?" she asks, face screwing up in confusion because _what is he doing, the castle is in the other direction._

They emerge from the foliage, sunlight spreading across their faces as they abandon the verdant shadows of the woods. A blossom tree erects from the middle of the lake, its trunk bulky and aged. Ivory petals drift down from its twisting branches, fluttering through the air and dancing in the cool breeze. Sonic eases Elise onto the ground, where long-overgrown grass brushes her ankles.

She walks forward, slow and mystified. "It's—it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen so many flowers." She reaches her arms out, letting her fingers graze the drifting petals. "Sonic, have you ever visited places as amazing as this?"

He grins softly, eyeing the scene in wonder. He has, of course. He's seen practically every corner of the planet, but it—it never gets old. "Yeah," the hero says. As he watches Elise bask in the beauty of the lake, he can't help but chuckle to himself. It's heartwarming, really; she's been so sheltered all her life, too preoccupied with the problems of royalty and reputation that she'd never gotten the chance to just—to just _be a kid for once._

Elise eventually turns to him, something somber seeming to cross her mind. "You'll have to leave again once you stop the doctor, won't you." It's not a question, and something pitiful aches in his heart.

Sonic nods in confirmation. He feels a little bad, but he can't deny to himself that he has an incessant urge to always stay on the move. "… I can send ya' postcards," he says fruitlessly, a weak smirk playing on his lips. It manages to elicit a light hum from her, but nothing more.

"Thank you… for letting me be more than just a princess. I've had a lot of fun on this adventure." She pauses, her voice wavering. "When you leave, promise—promise you'll remember this place."

He grins surely at her and gives a thumbs up. "Definitely."

They stare at one another for a moment, before Elise breaks it off as she turns away, whimpering to herself and wiping at her face.

"Elise?" the hedgehog says, concern swelling in his throat. He doesn't really get it. She's so adamant about never crying, and it's just _stupid_ because she's only human and why she represses her emotions he'll probably never understand, but—

She breaks, swivels on her feet and collapses to her knees, falls into his arms. She's nearly trembling, and all Sonic can do is rub her back in comfort. He pulls away from the embrace to look her in the eyes. "Hey. Just smile."

It's hardly there, but she does.

* * *

"Sonic!"

A plume of smog bursts before them, and he ducks through it as Elise hides her face in his chest. Sirens are wailing all around them and he can hardly stand straight, what with the carrier falling apart at the seams, but for whatever reason he's brandishing a wicked grin, emblazoned across his face as he runs.

They quickly reach a dead end, faced with only the inevitable descent towards the rocky waters below. Fragments of the ship have broken off, adorned in capes of flames as they all fall into the enclosing cliff sides around them and crash in grand explosions. Heat crawls along his skin, and his heart is thrumming in his chest; they're rapidly running out of time and he has to make a decision, _now._

Pieces of shrapnel no larger than an automobile glide through the air, with tails of smoke behind them, and an idea clicks in his head. From the look in her eyes, Elise knows precisely his plan.

"Aren't you worried?" he asks her, preparing to boost off the Egg Carrier.

She smiles at him, just a little apprehension brewing in her gaze. It's overwhelmingly drowned by something much more exhilarating. "When you have time to worry, run, right?"

Sonic laughs, and they're already rocketing through the air. His feet make contact with the chunk of shrapnel and he pushes off, propelling them towards the next one. He bounces off that one and they're so close to the cliff, they've almost escaped, he can just barely reach it—

His heart drops to his stomach as they start to fall back towards the water, hundreds of meters below. Elise is squeezing him so hard it's probably drawing blood, and all that's registering in his mind is _water._ Something sick ebbs up his throat as he resigns himself to their fate.

And then throbbing heat spreads up across his back, ears going deaf as an explosion sounds beneath them and the pure force of it sends them flying straight back up.

The next thing he knows he's tumbling through the grass like a ragdoll, flailing helplessly and his hearing still not quite restored. Sonic rolls to a stop and gasps heavily, mind spinning and stars dancing beneath his eyelids. Wide emeralds snap open and land on Elise, who lies motionless, just a few feet away. He scrambles to his feet in a heartbeat and jogs to her.

At the sound of his footsteps, the princess rolls onto her back, fanning out her limbs like a child making snow angels. A gentle smile finds its way to Sonic's face, and he holds out a hand to her. Elise slowly peels open her eyes before accepting the gesture, and sitting up.

And it's so stupid, but they can't help but laugh like fools.

* * *

For a moment, all of his senses are overwhelmed in a blinding, scalding light that seems to pierce through his very skin and tangle around his bones. And then he opens his eyes, and there is nothing. He feels hollow, and there's no gravity to tie him down, but with a quick onceover of himself he quickly confirms that yes, he's blue, not gold, and the Chaos Emeralds are long gone.

The darkness is endless and vacant but it feels so suffocating, so suffocating that he can hardly breathe. His ribs rack with each shuddery breath, and for the first time in days, he feels as cold as ice.

He turns, drifts to the right a bit, and there's Elise, her eyes so wide and vulnerable he swears she's still a child. Her pristine, white garb carries an angelic glow amongst the utter darkness around them.

"Did you destroy it?" she says, and she sounds so quiet it's bone-chilling.

Sonic looks all around them, at the vast expanse of indisputable nothing surrounding them, and he wonders if he destroyed _everything._

But suddenly, white tendrils start to lace all around them, heat easing into his body. He can hardly register what's happening before it swallows the both of them whole, completely immersing them in this raw power that beats like a heart against them. _Solaris._

He breathes in slowly, and they're shrouded in darkness again, aside from a single candle drifting in the air between them.

Elise cups her hands beneath it, and the flame twitches and wavers a bit. She flinches, as though it's some fragile antique. Sonic nearly laughs at it, because that puny candle nearly slaughtered him less than five minutes ago, and yet—

And yet here he was now, the fate of Solaris literally in their hands.

"This… This is where it all began," Elise says, and her eyes are misty and her hands are shaking but the flame continues to burn, continues to twist and writh in the dead air. She looks at him, and he isn't sure if he's ever seen such exhaustion and misery painted across someone's face. "And we have to blow it out, don't we? We have to stop the Flames of Disaster."

Words seem to fail him for once, and he can only nod at her.

"… But," she continues, barely whispering. "But if I do, then all of this—this whole adventure—will have never happened." Elise blinks, and a tear cascades down her cheek. It's jarring; he's never seen her cry before. "… You and I will never have met."

Something aches in his chest at that, and he almost speaks, but now she's angry, tears of frustration falling freely down her face as she trembles more.

"I don't—" she sobs, her voice thick. "It's not fair. None of this is fair. I—I shouldn't have to deal with this, not after everything else." Elise meets his eyes, and there's nothing but raw pain stirring in hers. It sends pillars of ice through his system. "Gods, I don't even _care_ what happens to the world!"

She nearly casts the candle aside, lets it fall to the ground uselessly, but Sonic grabs her wrist before she can. He looks at her, truly _looks_ at her, lowering all of his masks of sarcasm and apathy and wit.

"You don't mean that," he says, his voice tender. "I know you don't. You know what the right choice is. Sometimes it just isn't always our favorite."

A broken moan falls from her lips, as they quiver uncontrollably, but she doesn't refute. Simply stares deeply into the dwindling flame.

"Elise?" Sonic says, and she looks up at him again. He grins, only a little. "Just smile."

Her lips curl upwards, and wordlessly, she blows out the flame.

* * *

 **aand that's it folks. sorry this was kinda lame lol. i'm gonna try to finish up the next chap of twtts asap, but with school and some lingering writer's block it may still be a little while. my goal's still Before Christmas tho, so keep an eye out!**


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